In the first part of this book, we provide you with the basic tools for writing your life story. By reading this section and following along with the exercises, you will begin laying the foundation for your narrative.
In CHAPTER ONE you will discover the many reasons why you might choose to write your life story. Perhaps you want to leave a legacy for your family, provide insights for increased self-understanding, reconcile the past and resolve old resentments, facilitate personal growth, or assist in the transition from one life stage to another, e.g., from work to retirement. Any one of these motivators is an excellent reason to begin writing today.
In CHAPTER TWO you will discover many ways to record the life you’ve lived. These include autobiography, memoirs (such as coming of age, confessional, celebrity memoir, personal, spiritual, and travel), life review, creative nonfiction, and guided autobiography. Legacy writing serves as a powerful hybrid. It takes the best of many life story styles and merges them into a cohesive and concise thematic method.
In CHAPTER THREE we’ll get down to business—time to prepare for writing! First, we’ll examine how different people learn. This is a key tool that can help you navigate the maze of writing your life story—that is, discovering if you are an auditory, tactile, or visual learner.
You will also learn that sometimes it’s easier to start a major writing project than to stick with it. We touch upon a few motivators, including a review of the times when you successfully completed a project (if you did it before, you can do it again!), challenging your internal critics, and being flexible with your goals.
Finally we will discuss how fear can slow down your writing. Some fears include failure, criticism, success, commitment, and more. Letting go of these common fears will help move your stories from ideas to words.
In CHAPTER FOUR you will learn that the best writing comes when all five senses are engaged. Who can deny the magic of a story filled with vivid sensory description? You can employ the power of sight, the magic of sound, the pleasure of touch, the savor of taste, and the memory of smell.
In CHAPTER FIVE you will recognize some of the difficulties in self-expression and finding your writing voice. Which one is the real you? To discover this, try writing what you know, writing your feelings, writing to your readers, writing with humor, and more.
In CHAPTER SIX you will examine viewpoint and discover that you are the hero of your story. You also will learn the challenges involved in playing this role, including humility, power, responsibility, and being on a pedestal. There are several attributes of a hero: conviction, courage, humility, wisdom, and more. By staying true to your heroic tendencies, you stay true to your story.
In CHAPTER SEVEN we will discuss interviewing techniques. You may know yourself better than anyone else, but others know you from their own perspectives. Hearing those perspectives can be enlightening and can add depth to your life story. We provide several tips for conducting powerful interviews.
In CHAPTER EIGHT you will learn that memory is fleeting and can stay tucked away in the hidden spots of your mind. There are many ways to help you salvage these forgotten experiences. We recommend listening to music from the time period, browsing through old yearbooks, studying old photos, and visiting the area where you grew up, among others.
You will also learn that everyone makes mistakes and has done things they later regret. Dark secrets may haunt us and may also hurt others. You must choose what to write down and what to leave out. You must define your audience. If you are writing for your grandchildren, write accordingly.
In CHAPTER NINE you will discover that life story writing can be a form of healing. Time and distance provide a new perspective on painful memories, and writing brings repressed memories to the surface, causing them to dissipate. To help you heal, examine your past, forgive yourself and others, and let it go.
In CHAPTER TEN you will learn that humor is often undervalued in life story writing. Yet it allows us to be vulnerable and makes our stories more accessible and understood. We share some valuable techniques for writing with humor: Don’t use others for your target practice, use humor for balance, avoid sarcasm, and so on. Life is a combination of light and dark. Be sure to include lots of sunshine—humor makes even a sad story bearable.
In CHAPTER ELEVEN you will discover the key factors in building a powerful life story. A few of these include employing the five Ws (who, what, where, when, and why), deciding on a tone and point of view, showing rather than telling, and avoiding clichés. You will also learn several tips that can facilitate your storytelling and make your writing experience enjoyable and entertaining.
In CHAPTER TWELVE we will look into ways to expand your story beyond yourself and reach out to connect with others. We will also discuss how to end your life story when you are still living it.